Video: Firefighters, Responders Train For High-Rise Rescues

Rachel Rodemann Times Record Fort Smith firefighters instruct Fort Smith EMTs on how to ride the frietruck's ladder bucket back to the ground after performing a mock high rise extrication Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2013, at the Fort Smith Convention Center.

Though Fort Smith firefighters are constantly training through exercises at the station, nothing compares to hands-on training, said Capt. Phil Christensen with the fire department.

“It keeps us proficient in our exercises. … this is a real-life situation here, Christensen said.

The exercise involved 12 firefighters from four companies as well as a crew from Fort Smith Emergency Medical Services.

During the training, firefighters rode in the ladder truck bucket to the second tier of the convention center roof, then climbed to the top tier with a vertical ladder secured on the building. After the firefighters set the ladders, a two-person EMS crew climbed the ladders to help evaluate the medical situation.

“They’re trying to get an idea of how we work, because in the real deal, they’re going to go up there and help, too,” explained Battalion Chief Skip Matthews.

“EMS is a vital part of it. If we were in a situation where there was a critically injured patient, we have to have trained EMS personnel on scene also that aren’t afraid of heights and can work with us so they can assess the patient and stabilize the patient,” added Christensen.

Even the two probational firefighters who participated in the training were familiar with the ladders and ropes, but for the EMS crew, it was a first.

“It’s an experience,” laughed Jen Lee of Fort Smith EMS. “It was different, the height; you wouldn’t think it would be an issue but it really was, it was an issue.”

Lee said that although she has never had a fear of heights, climbing a ladder to a rescue is a different sort of challenge. “Climbing up the ladder was a whole lot more difficult than what we thought,” she said. “I’m not afraid of heights at all, but that was even spooky for us to be up that high.”

Fort Smith Mayor Sandy Sanders stopped by to view the training and the city’s fire department at work.

“It’s a learning experience,” Sanders said as the firefighters scaled the convention center walls.

“That’s one of the keys to our fire department,” Sanders said. “They do a lot of training, they do a lot of work-through-it, then debrief afterwards, so they know exactly what they’re doing and how to do it better.”